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My First Filofax: The Pocket Guildford

I was fifteen. A girl in my class had one, she was a girl I respected. I wanted to be respected too… So I purchased my first Filofax!

I chose black because I figured it was a serious colour, and I wanted people to think I was very important. I had no idea how expensive Filofaxes could be, but I struck lucky, there was a sale on and the little pocket Guildford sat on the shelf looking up at me with its 50% off sticker. I could almost hear it whispering “Please take me home with you.”

The next week at school I felt confident. And guess what? The girl in my class who I admired so much suddenly had something to talk to me about. We became firm Filofax friends, and sat next to each other in all of the classes from then on.

I’ve used my Guildford on and off over the years, according to my whimsical nature, but it is only recently that I discovered the obsession that has been biding its time. I am now a fully grown adult and I can afford to pay for the Filofax fascination. And pay I will! Within reason of course.

What I Love About My Pocket Guildford Filofax

Looking at my pocket Guildford I can hardly believe it is twelve years old. The black leather is a tad scuffed here and there but I think it just adds to the flavour. I love how soft it feels, snugly sitting in my hand. It is the perfect size for taking out and about with me, which is why I have decided to start using it as myhandbag Filofax.Everyone has to have a handbag Filofax! If you don’t then I suggest you think about acquiring one. Any excuse to add to your collection, eh?

My Handbag Filofax System

I have developed a system so that my Personal-sized Filofax (which isn’t technically a Filofax, it’s a vintage crimson coloured organiser from the eighties apparently) doesn’t feel too left out. Basically I don’t keep diary inserts in my pocket Guildford. It contains only lined paper and clear top-opening envelopes for pictures or lose notes, and a card-holder insert. This way I can use it on a daily basis, mainly when I am out and about, and then any notes I make during the day can be copied into my personal Filofax in the evening, which is what I always refer to when I’m at home to keep on top of things as it is my main dairy.

I always write and transfer a daily plan-of-action or to-do list which I keep at the front of my pocket Guildford and refer to it throughout the day when I am out. Some people might think it rather odd to have more than one diary and then transfer notes between them all, but I just think its common sense. Besides, Filofaxes are collector's items, so you want to have more than one, and an excuse for using them all.

This system is working like magic for me at the moment because my personal-sized organiser became too bulky and heavy to carry around with me – don’t you just hate it when that happens? Love the way it looks though! Before now, I found that the pocket Guildford’s rings were too small for it to be my main organiser, and I really like the look of a stuffed Filofax!

But now I can happily use it as my daily notebook/wallet. It fits my smartphone in the back pocket quite nicely, and also my little silver card holder that homes my business cards. Always useful to have those with me.

The Pocket-sized organisers really are the perfect size for carrying around with you. I am looking forward to taking my pocket Guildford out with me to evening networking and social events as it is small enough to fit comfortably in the palm of my hand while I hold my glass of wine in the other! (Whoever thinks Filofaxes are for geeks has obviously never heard of the term ‘geek is chic!’)

I also keep my passport tucked into the back of my Pocket Guildford, because whenever I am out in the evening I nearly always get asked for ID. Such are the drawbacks of having a youthful face. I had to get a bit creative to stop everything from falling out though, so I slipped a black elastic hairband around the Filofax which holds the passport nicely in place by the spine. I love this idea because the band is stretchy and can also act as a wrist strap on the outside, which will be great for the times when I am holding my glass of wine in one hand, and then the waiter swims by with a tray of tasty nibbles!

I keep a passport sized notebook slipped into the left-hand side inside flap. You can buy them from Muji for 95p in passport-red and navy-blue. The paper is blank inside so I use mine for little diagrams, sketches and visual reminders.

What I Don’t Love About the Pocket Filofax

One thing I’m not very happy about with the Pocket-sized organisers is that there don’t appear to be any cream-coloured blank divider tabs. I don’t particularly like the multi-coloured ones, so I am doing without. I use my clear top-opening envelope inserts to divide my paper from my contacts. I also use discrete silver page slides from Waterstones to mark important notes hidden away in the middle, for easy reference.

My Other Filofax Secrets...

I tend to purchase a few bits and pieces from Paperchase for my Pocket and Personal-sized Filofaxes, simply because they're cheap and cheerful!

They do a very pretty selection of pens and click-pencils that fit into the Filofax pen hoops perfectly, and they're only about £2.

Also they have quite a nice selection of inserts which are less expensive than the the original Filofax ones. I particularly like the brown kraft lined-paper inserts.

Well that's all from me for now. My new A5 Chameleon Filofax should be arriving tomorrow morning, so as you can imagine I am jolly excited! Tune in tomorrow to share my joy :) I will be posting a little video, so you'll get to meet me face-to-face.And if you have enjoyed this post and are looking forward to many more please feel free to subscribe to Filofancy for regular updates on all new publications - straight in your email box!Bye for now...Zara M.x

"The other day I got a wonderful surprise... I went onto the Filofax website (as I do at least once every time I am online) and to my delight I discovered that the Filofax I have had my eye on for months... the Filofax that started the obsession but was too expensive to even consider... the Filofax Chameleon in Aqua A5... was ON SALE!"

Hiya, thanks for your comments :) Really excited about my new blog, and its wonderful to hear from anyone who has had a read.

Glad you like the pics Tracy. I have to say, that originally I used some pics that weren't actually mine and was kindly reminded of copyright law... eek! So I took them down, but have subsequently discovered that taking my own snaps of my own lovely Filofaxes is SO much more fun! Mr. Morton from Philofaxy also pointed me in the direction of one of his posts on taking good pics of Filofaxes, which was very useful, and I even ended up getting a bit experimental - as you can see!

Touch decision... let me know which one you went for, and why! Its always interesting to find out how other people use their Filofaxes, and sometimes it sheds light on an element that could make your own even more useful. Knowledge is power!

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